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Matt Anderson
Matthew "Matt" Anderson, was brought in as the new team leader following Danny's disappearance. His distinguished CV includes military service, a decoration for heroism and climbing Everest (though this has yet to be ratified). Official Description Brave, good-looking though barely aware of it, confident, funny and something of a risk taker. He hates conformity and is indifferent to authority. He’s in the ARC operation for his own reasons, which will slowly become clear - though he is open and friendly, loyal and brave; there’s an air of mystery about him, as though he’s always holding back something about himself. His past is a murky one – it’s clear from his CV that he’s spent years pushing himself to the limits – in the wild, in the military. But nothing that gives any real hint of the man beneath. A man seemingly detached from relationships, an outsider would think he had no family, no friends. It certainly seems that way at first. But as the series continues, and his past is slowly revealed, he might begin to open his heart to other people, and one in particular... He is exuberant in the face of danger, has a really uncanny empathy with the creatures and is well versed in all the sciences. There is something attractively reckless about him, but not irresponsible; he will happily put his own life at risk, but not anyone else’s. He’ll break the rules to save lives, much to Becker’s displeasure. He cares passionately about the team and his job. His wit and calmness make him an attractive, heroic and romantic figure, but we sense there is something flawed in him, a secret that will show his complex personality in a new light. Bio S4 Prequel Episode 1 )]] When the ARC is revived due to a government-private partnership, Matt is made the new team leader, replacing Danny Quinn, who has been missing for nearly a year along with Connor Temple and Abby Maitland. Matt is interviewed and is shown footage of the appearance of a Stegosaurus in the members bar at the House of Commons, he identifies it and states that it's from the late Jurassic. The interviewer notes that Matt doesn't appear surpised, Matt simply says that he's told he doesn't have a very expressive face, saying that after his job interview at a top secret government facility he was prepared to be shown pretty much anything. S4 Prequel Episode 2 )]] Matt is outside and phones a man called Gideon, asking if he's avaliable, he is asked if he's heard something, Matt replies not yet. Gideon notes that he sounds worried, he assures him that his background's perfect and it's possible that he made him sound a little bit more perfect. Matt has noticed, asking if climbing everest is pushing it, Gideon tells him that he'll have to be approved by ARC security and they're all ex-military. Gideon tells him that it's not enough just to impress them, he has to intimidate them, they end their call. Matt later calls Gideon and announces that he's in, Gideon tells Matt that he's ready, he's worked hard and is the perfect candidate, not just for the job, but for the mission. Gideon tells him that what ever happens, "don't mess it up". S4 Prequel Episode 3 )]] Matt watches a promotional video for Prospero Industries, the company that now owns part of the ARC, where CEO Philip Burton explains that Prospero is the future, from bio-medical advances to the very latest in energy and enviromental engineering. He only invests in the best and the brightest, so he's proud to have Matt aboard and he knows he'll be proud of Prospero. Jess Parker, the new field-coordinator comes behind Matt and mouths the end of the video, explaining that she's seen this video with every new recruit this month. But as she notes, he's of course no new recruit, he's the new team leader. Matt tells her that she doesn't have to call him sir, just Matt, he follows her to a place to meet with Becker. He asks her what's Burton like, she says that she's only met him twice, she thought he'd be really scary but he's not at all. She introduces him to the new I.D. tag on his wrist, it matches a reading of his skin, doors scan it to gain entry and it won't work for anyone else if he loses it. Matt asks if Burton has his own office her, Jess says he doesn't but normally uses Lester's if he pops by. Becker arrives and welcomes Matt who says it's good to meet him. Becker tells Matt that Lester told him he has a problem, Matt explains that he thinks the Special Forces should wear civilian clothes as the uniforms are a bit conspicuous. Becker argues that the uniform promotes unity and gives his men authority in the field. When Matt says that the "big guns" would have the same effect Becker says that the uniforms promote public confidence especially when weapons are involved and neither Nick or Danny had a problem with them. Matt decides that they will talk about it later but first asks him to show him around. Becker agrees and decides to show him around the armoury, as Becker leaves, Jess wishes Matt luck and assures him that Becker is nice really. Matt talks to Gideon on the phone who asks who's picking up where Cutter and Temple left off with anomaly research, Matt says it isn't clear yet but he has met Lester. Gideon asks what he makes of him, Matt says that he's light on civilities and heavy on sarcasm, hard to read. Gideon tells Matt to keep an eye on him and asks him about Jess, Matt explains that she seems young for the job but he's told that she's formidable when the team are facing an anomaly. Gideon asks about the second-in-command, Matt simply says that Becker likes guns, he says that it will take Becker a while to accept him, saying he was really close to Danny, Abby and Connor and he feels responsible for what happened. Matt tells Gideon that Becker shows no interest whatsoever in the anomalies, he doesn't think he is the man they're looking for. S4 Prequel Episode 4 )]] Matt and Jess are walking together when Becker catches up with them, he asks Matt if it's true he's ordered non-lethal weapons. Matt isn't very bothered with Becker's shock and asks Jess for three shelfs for his plants. Becker says the team need real guns, saying they aren't collecting for a petting zoo, warning the creatures aren't just interesting they're also deadly. Matt assures him that he knows, Becker asks if he knows what happens when they cut corners, people get hurt, people die. Matt tells him to just give the new weapons a chance, saying that he might be plesantly surprised. Matt leaves saying that he'll see them both at the meeting, Jess assures Becker that he's alright, but Becker doesn't trust him and promises the rest of the team won't either. Matt makes a speech to the ARC staff, introducing himself to those he hasn't met. He explains that for the last couple of days Becker has been bending his ear on every detail on the operation to make sure that everyone is looked after, Matt assures everyone that their safety, even the safety of Becker, is his top priority. He describes how their jobs are demanding, dangerous, how they put their lives on the line to protect the public everytime the alarm goes off. There's no room for errors and there's no time for on the job training. He says that with all of that in mind, some new policies are being implimented, all new field operatives will be stricly military or from a military background, safety will come first, there will be no more civilian recruiting. He notes that during the past few months, some staff have been testifying to the last mission of the old ARC, but now the investigation is officially wrapped up, Abby Maitland, Connor Temple and Danny Quinn have been pronounced missing, presumbed dead. But Matt makes it clear that it means absolutely nothing, over the years the ARC has lost many briliant people such as Nick Cutter, Stephen Hart and most recently Sarah Page. As far as Matt is concerned, this doesn't included Abby, Connor and Danny, saying that they could still be out there fighting to stay alive and to make it home. As Matt says, he never had the chance to work with them, but he hopes that someday he will. He announces that his first act as new team leader is to reject the government's findings, making it clear that he isn't giving up on the missing trio. Jess hopes that this will make Becker change his view on Matt, Lester is pleased at Matt's speech S4 Prequel Episode 5 )]] Becker and Matt take a look at new handheld tracking units given to them by Jess, Matt notes their rather large size, Jess explains that they collect data on the anomalies and are part of the new comm system and with these, she can monitor and record everything they say while out in the field. When Matt asks if it's necessary, Becker says of course it is as if they get into trouble, it will be known about it immediately. Matt asks if these will only be on during an alert, Jess tells him that Lester wants them on at all times just in case. When Jess says that the device will stop feeding back when they go through an anomaly, Becker asks why that is an issue as the policy is strict, no one goes through no matter what reason, everyone has been briefed and everyone knows the rules. As he leaves, Jess says to Matt that she wasn't saying that anyone should go through, Matt explains that he knows but he'll calm down soon. Matt goes outside and phones Gideon, turning off his tracker before he does so, he apologises for missing the calltime as he faced an Iguanodon at a beauty school, Gideon remarks that it sounds messy. Matt says it's the best fun he's had in a long time and the team are fantasic, Gideon says it's good to here that, Matt tells him that although Becker is a pain he's good at what he does. When Gideon hesitates to reply, Matt asks him what's wrong, Gideon is fearful since the team will become his friends, Matt assures him he's not going to get too close and he won't take no chances, saying that they've been working towards this for ten years. Gideon apologises, telling Matt that sometimes he fears it's impossible and they'll fail, Matt assures him they won't. Gideon isn't so sure, warning Matt that they're running out of time. Episode 4.1 Jess accidently lets the Dracorex out of storage where it ramages through the ARC, and after a brief confrontation with it in a corridor Matt manages to distract it with a bucket of water and lures it to Lester's office where the Dracorex trashes it. Matt takes the blame for Jess' mistake. When Matt's EMD weapons arrive Becker is reluctant to use them and tells Matt he'll only use them if he thinks its an effective weapon. Matt tests one of the EMDs on him and Becker is surprised by their power. He agrees to use them and asks Matt if he trusted him, and Matt said he did. Philip Burton arrived, knowing he didn't free the Dracorex and implied that next time he screwed up he'd be fired. An anomaly is detected and Matt, Becker and the Special Forces are sent to the scene. It is revealed that Connor opened it when he and Abby emerged from the anomaly and reunited with Becker. The anomaly was locked with the Anomaly Locking Mechanism when Connor tried to show off to Matt but using the anomaly device to close the anomaly, Connor accidently unlocked the anomaly, letting in a Spinosaurus which was hunting the two. It is then corraled by the team into an Arena where it is surrounded by the Special Forces, Matt picks up Connor with a harness. Connor inadvertently saves the day by dropping the anomaly device into the Spinosaurus' mouth, creating an anomaly inside it causing the creature to implode from with in. On returning to the ARC, Burton informs Connor and Abby that they are no longer needed and they are fired. Matt later meets up with Gideon and tells him of Abby and Connor's return. Episode 4.2 Connor has been fired but it is agreed that Abby can have a minor job in the ARC. Connor meets up with his old friend Duncan who has suspicons of a creature attack at a construction site. Connor summons Abby, who is being followed by Matt. It is revealed that the creature is a Kaprosuchus and it attacks them, Matt arrives and saves them from the deadly creature. Matt helps them search for the creature on land, whilst Abby searches by the water and after seeing it enter the water, chase it by boat. Little does she know the creature is underneath her boat until it attacks but it swam off to the container port where it kills a person and nearly kills Matt before Becker shoots it with the EMD. After storing it inside a container, when the dock crane lifts the container trap high into the air, the creature wakes up and thrash the container's sides until the crane loses grip, dropping the container to the ground where the croc escapes into the labyrinth of the container park. Added to that, Duncan has disappeared with the creature chasing him and Connor is beside himself. Matt coordinates a plan to drive the creature out of the container maze using flares, whilst Connor goes in search of Duncan. And it works well although the creature devours one of Becker's men after he accidentally shot himself with his EMD, until the creature comes at Becker from above but luckily Matt, Connor and Abby shoot it with their EMDs and kill it. Connor returns to ARC to fight for his job, but is too late, Matt has already won him his place back on the team. But does he have ulterior motives in fighting for Connor? Episode 4.3 An anomaly is detected in a Theatre, the team are sent to the scene, aside from Connor who is at the ARC with Jess. Matt confronts a woman called Emily Merchant who emerged from the anomaly, Emily escapes through the anomaly and Matt gives chase, assuming she’s about to be stranded in a different time. Emily knocks him out but is pulled up to a tree by an Arboreal Dinosaur, she manages to release herself by stabbing it but she is injured by the fall. Matt pulls her to the anomaly, shooing off the Dinosaur with her knife, but finds the anomaly has been locked. Becker is persistant but is contacted by Connor who convinces him to unlock it. Matt emerges with Emily but are followed by the creature that is repelled into the anomaly with ane EMD shot. With no clue as to Emily’s identity, Matt takes her to hospital. The ARC team lock the anomaly, but what they don’t realise is that two arboreal dinosaurs have come through and are still loose and in the present. )]] Emily escapes from hospital and Matt learns the truth about her – she’s not from this place or time. They realise a creature is loose and Emily agrees to help on condition Matt will let her back through the anomaly, Matt agrees. Whilst they track the creature through the high rise buildings of the city, Abby and Becker discover another creature is still at large in the theatre. They go head to head with their beast in the theatre’s foyer and eventually trap him and put him back through the anomaly. Meanwhile, Emily and Matt are forced to confront the creature on the roof of the tallest building in the city. As they attempt to capture it, Matt is cornered by the creature, leaving Emily to save his life. With both creatures taken care of and the anomaly closed, Matt realises he can’t take Emily back to the ARC – they’ll only start asking questions. After enlisting the help of a reluctant Abby, he promises her he’ll help her get back when the next anomaly opens. Until then she’ll stay secretly at his flat, she warns Matt of her accomplice Ethan, who is extremely dangerous. She says that his friend Charlotte Cameron could control him but after she died, he is intent on revenge. Little do they know they’re being watched from the shadows by Ethan, he blames Emily for the death of his beloved Charlotte. Episode 4.4 )]]Matt was sleeping on the couch in his flat when Emily tried to sneak out. He got dressed and noted that a shirt she had borrowed looked good on her, and she said she couldnn't find anything else, so he joked about not having skirts available, and then offered to make her a coffee, but she asked for tea. A new Anomaly was detected, and he agreed to help her find Ethan once he got back, and told her to draw a picture of him so that he would know what he looked like. Arriving at the McKinnon School, Connor asked Matt about his school says, but Matt said he didn't remember, and admitted he didn't like talking about himself. They discovered there was a creature incursion, and found the body of a dead teacher who had been paralysed by the creature before being torn apart. Then door security locks then activated and cut him and Becker off from Connor. Jess warned the pair that there were two boys being stalked by the creature. They were unable to find them and were too late to prevent a girl from being killed inside the gym. Matt confronted the creature, a Therocephalian, in the equipment room, but beat it up before it was shot by Becker's EMD. Jess then told them that more were coming through the Anomaly, so Becker went to lock it while Matt and Connor tried to find the boys. Matt managed to shoot it before it could maul the boys and Connor. He went to help Becker and found several Therocephalian in the canteen with Becker suffering from the creature's venom. He made a tornique and poured salt over the wound to halt its effects before they tried to take out the rest of the creatures, but Connor and the boys made gas bombs that knocked them out. He returned to his flat to find Emily missing, but she had left a drawing of Ethan behind. Episode 4.5 Matt and Abby went to Lester about Emily's disappearance, who wasn't happy about that Matt had kept the secret. A new Anomaly with a strange signal was detected, and despite the situation with Emily, he went with Abby and Connor to a seaside village where the Anomaly was known to be. After failing to get help from people in the local bar, he told them to try locate the Anoamly. Matt went to the river and found parts of a body and went to warn a fisherman, and saved him from the creature, a Labyrinthodont, which escaped into the water. He then decided to try and find Emily while Abby and Connor dealt with the situation. Lester acted as Jess and told Matt that another Black Box belonging to him was active, and realised Emily had taken it. Matt followed Lester's instructions and went to the Tower Hill Cemetery, where he spotted Ethan fleeing. He fought briefly with him, but was unable to keep him from escaping, but Ethan first told Matt it wasn't over. Matt then went in search of the Black Box's signal and found a mausoleum with the name Cameron, which was Charlotte's last name. He found Emily alive inside a coffin and set her free. He went to see Gideon and told him what was happening, and was told to focus on finding Ethan, as his appearance wasn't a coincidence with what they were trying to do, and to focus on trying to accomplish their mission as nothing else mattered. Episode 4.6 Matt is visiting the severely ill Gideon, who was dreaming of their home. He reluctantly agrees to use Emily as bait for Ethan. When at the ARC with Emily, the talked over the Ethan situation with Lester, who suggested that Emily return to her home, but Matt insisted she stay, as part of his plan. With a new Anomaly detected, Matt took Emily with him to the Stately Home, where the Anomaly was locked and a Hyaenodon neutralised. Former ARC team member Jenny Lewis arrived on the scene, as she was getting married there the next day. Matt tried to introduce himself but she was too worried about her past catching up with her to acknowledge him, but she agreed to allow the team to stay until the Anomaly closed. Emily walked in on Jenny introducing her fiancee' and Matt kept her from revealing the Anomalies. He wanted her to stay with him, but she decided to stay with Jenny and Abby. During the night he went for a walk with Emily, and admitted to her that he had already known of the ARC and Anomalies before he joined and was trying to figure out what happened with the Anomalies, but doesn't say more. At the wedding he notices Emily's ring, meaning she was married, but she refused to say anytthing. During the wedding more Hyaenodons began attacking the guests, and Matt helped fend them off with medieval armour. Afterwards Emily tells Matt that her marriage meant nothing, and he decides to take her to Gideon. Before Gideon dies, Matt informs him that Emily is with him, but that he will use her to capture Ethan and then walk away, claiming she means nothing to him. Gideon tries to tell Matt something, but only manages to say "I wish..." before dying. Matt weeps at his father's side before telling Emily that Gideon was his father. Eye Strain Matt, along with Abby and Connor, has to coax a pterosaur back through an anomaly on London's south bank. Episode 4.7 Matt visited Emily inside her room at the ARC, bringing her a plant, telling her once Ethan's captured she'll be allowed to stay in the present if she wants. He convinces Lester to give him more time to go through the evidence they have on Ethan and bring him in himself. He is wary when Connor dates an anomaly leading to Emily's home, but it appears to be wrong anyway. While going through the evidence he learns Ethan can track anomalies via a self-powered radio and heads there in case he shows up, but tells Emily to stay behind because he doesn't want to be distracted worrying about her. Upon arrival Abby tells him they've got a wierd anomaly that opens up weaker versions of itself around the prison. Matt suspects Ethan may have manipulated it and this is what he's waiting for. After a brief Terror Bird scare he fired at something coming through and accidentally shot Danny Quinn. When he woke he apologised and reminded the others Ethan could arrive any moment. Connor managed to interfere with the anomaly signal and gave away Ethan's position, and while Abby and Connor dealt with the Terror Bird while Matt pursued Ethan and eventually cornered him. He demanded to know what his plan was and Ethan claimed there wasn't one, but before Matt could press further the Terror Bird distracted him and allowed Ethan to get away. While Ethan held a gun to Danny it was revealed Ethan was actually Patrick Quinn, Danny's missing brother. Taking advantage of his relaxed state Matt took Patrick in custody and at the ARC he began questioning him about his plans, but learned he was not involved in what Matt suspected. Matt took some of his frustration out on Emily and was angry at himself for being so certain about the wrong person. Patrick later escaped the ARC with Emily as a hostage, and Matt and Danny pursued him to the prison, but Patrick had already gone through the Pliocene anomaly (after it was learnt that two anomalies had opened on the same spot and caused all the trouble) and Emily had knocked out the Terror Bird. As Danny leaves to follow Patrick he tells Matt that Philip knew Helen Cutter and isn't to be trusted and to warn the others. The other anomaly leading to Emily's home was unlocked and Emily decided she was going to go unless Matt asked her to stay, and had figured out he was from the future. Matt admitted that in the future people live underground because the planet is sterile and cannot suport life. He and his father were among a few sent back in time to stop someone from interfering with the anomalies, and thus destroying the world, though he doesn't know how it will happen. He encourages Emily to leave, telling her he can't let anything else matter, and watches her leave before he goes back to the ARC. Appearances Canonical *S4 Prequel Episode 1 *S4 Prequel Episode 2 *S4 Prequel Episode 3 *S4 Prequel Episode 4 *S4 Prequel Episode 5 *Episode 4.1 *Episode 4.2 *Episode 4.3 *Episode 4.4 *Episode 4.5 *Episode 4.6 *Eye Strain *Episode 4.7 Behind the Scenes Speculation *It was speculated by some fans that Matt is actually Danny Quinn's younger brother Patrick Quinn, one of the kids who disappeared in Episode 3.2. Sources have said that Matt "carefully guards the secrets of his past - and the real reason he has joined the ARC team". This could refer to Patrick disappearing through an anomaly, then returning, taking a false name and joining the ARC to try and find Danny. This speculation was further fueled by this image, of Ryan Mason calling "Matt" in Episode 3.2. **Adrian Hodges and Tim Haines were asked about this in a fan interview, and they said that it was a good guess, and was close, but wasn't quite correct. New spoilers seem to indicate that Matt's reason for joining the ARC actually has something to do with Philip Burton. It is still extremely possible that Matt is the "human intervention from the Future" that was mentioned in early press releases, due to his secrets, his meetings with Gideon and the EMD weapons he introduces to the ARC Source *http://www.iftn.ie/?act1=record&only=1&aid=73&rid=4282953&tpl=archnewshome&force=1 *http://www.itv.com/presscentre/pressreleases/programmepressreleases/primevalisback/default.html Anderson, Matt Anderson, Matt Anderson, Matt Anderson, Matt Anderson, Matt Anderson, Matt